Stop the Madness, Part 1
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Cascades Fellowship CRC, JX MI
July 6th, 2003
Pastor Chris Lanham
“Heaven, Heaven
Everybody talking about heaven ain’t going there
Heaven, Heaven
Going to shout all over God’s heaven.”
So goes the chorus to one of the most beloved Negro spirituals. Truer theology has not been spoken – not everybody talking about heaven is going there. Jesus warned of this in the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew13: 24-30 – there are weeds among the wheat, that will be weeded out in the last days. Everybody talking about heaven ain’t going there.
But there is also a fair amount of bad theology in the song. Now don’t get me wrong – this song is an uplifting, rousing affair that has encouraged generations of Christians. And the song provided hope to a people whose lot seemed hopeless: African-Americans oppressed by the chains of slavery. But there is a fair amount of theology based upon folk tales and tradition rather than the Scriptures. Here is one example:
“I’ve got a harp
All God’s children got a harp
When I get to heaven going to play my harp
Going to play all over God’s heaven.”
Heaven, heaven – everybody’s talking about heaven! There is a constant hum in the Christian community about the signs of the times. The discussion of the end times and heaven have even made it into the mainstream. The problem is not everything being said is worth listening to.
But an even more pressing problem with the “last days” fervor that seems to sweep through the church periodically is that the church spends so much time researching signs and gazing at the eastern sky, that we forget to be about the Father’s business. Energy that should be poured into equipping the saints for going out into all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is instead being used to scrutinize every international incident and how it might somehow be captured in the words of prophecy. Like the worker who is more concerned about the clock than giving a full day’s honest labor, with the fields white for harvest, we’re busy looking for the sign that will tell us its quitting time.
I remember during the first war against Iraq a number of books hit the shelves tying the events of the war to the prophecies of the Bible. Imminent theologians staked their reputations on works tying the Middle East conflict of 1991 to the beginning of the end. According to their complex formulations of how the Hebrew culture used numbers and calculated dates, the time was ripe for the Tribulation – that period of trouble before Christ’s ultimate return and reign. Some 12 years after the fact, in a recent Christian Books Distributors catalog, I noticed one of those books now goes for $.50. That’s the problem with writing a book predicting the end times – once the time is past and the end still hasn’t come, the book, and the research used to write the book is pretty much worthless. All that time and effort that could have been used for forming good theology, for effectively equipping saints – wasted.
Heaven, heaven – everybody’s talking about heaven. But this is not a new problem in the church. Believe it or not, Paul also dealt with this problem – even at that early stage of the of the church’s development. The church in Thessalonica was particularly bad about this – Paul ends up addressing this issue with them twice: once here in 1 Thessalonians and again in chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians.
So what does Paul have to say about the return of Christ and our eternal destiny – what does he say about heaven? The short answer is not much. As our passage this morning indicates, Paul was much more interested in communicating the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement, the power of the Gospel, and the immensity of God’s grace than trying to present a coherent, cohesive eschatology – or doctrine of the last things. But in the midst of the comfort he offers the Thessalonians there is a foundation for understanding what the Scriptures have to say concerning the last things.
To get a grip on this teaching, we will first make an effort to understand what prompted Paul to write about the ends times to begin with. Then we will take a look at what I will call Paul’s priority in dealing with the future. That in reality is what we are talking about – the future. How things are going to end up, what is our final state. Then we will take a look at the teaching entrusted to Paul concerning the Day of the Lord, that is the return of Christ – the truly last things of history as we know it. Finally, we will take a look at the application that Paul has for this teaching.
So why did Paul write about the Day of the Lord in the first place? Your answer is found in what is known as a “mirror reading” of the text. Take a look at v.13
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
Just prior to this Paul had been reminding the Thessalonians what he had taught them while he was among them – remember that in 4:1 Paul called on the Thessalonians continue to walk according to the instructions that gave them. Now here in v.13 he seems to be offering an answer to a question that was never asked.
In reality, the question was asked. Whether Paul received the question by a letter from the Thessalonian church or by Timothy’s report upon returning to Paul (remember from chapter 3:6, Paul had sent Timothy back to the Thessalonians to strengthen and encourage them after he had been run out of town) we don’t know – the Scriptures never say. But we do know that Paul is offering a new teaching – at least new for the Thessalonians – in response to something he had heard from or about the Thessalonians. So what had Paul heard?
The Thessalonians were concerned about believers who had died before the return of Christ. Paul’s teaching among them had included a sketch of the end times – Paul confirms this in 1 Thessalonians 5:2. But the Thessalonians mistook Paul’s teaching – they were concerned that if a person died before Jesus returned, he or she would be at a disadvantage or miss altogether the final resurrection. The result was intense anxiety and grieving at the passing of a brother or sister in Christ. They were ignorant as to the extent of the resurrection, the power and scope of the grace afforded us in Christ. For them, death still held an unassailable power. Hope only remained so long as they lived.
And so Paul writes in answer to this question – this gap of ignorance in their understanding. What is so interesting about Paul’s answer, however, is the context he places it is. Does he write this so that they will have a full-blown eschatological understanding – so that they will be able to hold end times seminars and plot out carefully constructed time-lines? Did he offer this new instruction so that they would be able to match up current events with biblical prophecy and write scrolls predicting Christ’s return? Of course not. Paul’s reason for writing is much more practical and in keeping Gospel he preached to the Thessalonians. Look again at v.13 and read it with v. 14 for Paul’s reason.
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
Paul’s motivation for writing was purely pastoral. He wanted to comfort the Thessalonians by giving them a theology that fully reflected the grace of God in Christ. Look what he roots his teaching in!
Often today when you hear teaching on the end times, it is usually cast into one of two lights. God’s mad and the sinners are going to get their’s when Jesus comes back or God’s mad and so you’d better repent now because tomorrow may be too late. Now, it is true that there is judgment to come and some of the Old Testament and New Testament teaching on the end times talks about it. But the basic underlying premise for all the prophecies concerning end times is not judgment – it’s God’s faithfulness to his covenant. It is how God will faithfully carry out the redemption he has promised. And Paul captures this by rooting his teaching on the end times in the resurrection!
Isn’t that interesting? So much teaching on the end times wants to concentrate on destruction – God’s wrath poured out, Christ, the victorious warrior slaying the enemies of God with the sword of his mouth. Inspire fear so that the people will want to buy fire insurance. But Paul, he speaks about the end times in the spirit of Isaiah 40
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God….
See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
You see, Paul’s priority in dealing with the Day of the Lord is not to cause fear – even a godly fear – rather it is grace. The immensity of grace, the fullness of grace, the power of grace. All of these are evident in the resurrection. Paul’s priority is to relieve fear.
So he roots his teaching on the end times in the resurrection. He tells the befuddled Thessalonians, in effect, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” He assures them that those who have died in Christ remain in Christ – nothing can separate them. And when Jesus Christ returns, those who have “fallen asleep” in Christ – what a wonderful euphemism – will return with him to take part in the final resurrection.
What an incredible comfort! In the face of life’s greatest uncertainty – the gloom and darkness that shrouds death – Paul shines a piercing light of hope! I don’t know about you, but for me this is big pickin’s.
One of the things all the gurus of preaching say is a necessary trait for successful preaching is to be vulnerable, transparent – to show the people you’re preaching to that you share their struggles. Allow me to be transparent for a moment.
There is a good reason why this passage has become more dear to me over the past few years. My mom at age 52 was diagnosed with Diabetes. She later brushed up against eternity with a host of internal ailments, including a growth in her bowels. Diabetes is often genetic.
At about the same time, my brother at age 42 suffered a heart attack. Coronary disease is often genetic. My parents have entered into their late 60’s. All of these factors have forced me to consider something I have rarely had time to think about – my own mortality. But that’s not what keeps me awake at night.
I am a husband now and a father. I have unique, life-changing relationships with three other people in this world. Before, I could go my own way, boldly reminding myself that my only comfort in life and in death is my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. Nothing can separate me from Christ. But something can separate me from Rachel, Abby, and Joy. And that loss would be too painful to even contemplate – the very thought of it is too paralyzing to consider – but for one thing. That the only comfort in life and in death for Rachel, Abby, and Joy is our faithful Savior Jesus Christ. Knowing that just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too shall be raised – that death is not the end, separation is not the final word – allows me to sleep at night. Secure in Christ! Now, that’s a hope – a message worth sharing.
And that’s the message Paul is writing to the Thessalonians. Separation is not the final word; they will see their loved ones in Christ again in the resurrection. But Paul settles the matter even further – he turns the minds of the Thessalonians away from idle speculation concerning the end times. He gives to them the instruction that he received as coming from the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Look with me at vv. 15-17.
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Since I spent more time on the first two points than I originally intended, let me get right to it here and describe the teaching entrusted to Paul.
Note first of all that Paul again emphasizes that those who have died in Christ will be present for the resurrection. Their spirits will once again be enfleshed at the return of Christ. Indeed, before those who are still alive at the return of Christ are translated into glory, the dead in Christ shall be raised – that is resurrected first.
The second thing to note is the very public nature of this event. Notice what accompanies the return – the very voice of God. One commentator says that the shout, the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God all represent the command of God for the dead in Christ to rise. Regardless, the implication of the shout, the voice and the trumpet is that this event will not be some veiled coming in the clouds to simply gather the church and spirit them away to the wedding feast of the Lamb. This is the announcement that the King is coming and the days of preparation and waiting are past.
A third and final thing to note is what it means “to meet” the Lord in the air. The language used in this passage is the same language describing a processional of city officials going out of the city gates to meet a dignitary and escort them back into the city with the proper honor. In other words, contrary to the popular teaching concerning the rapture, we do not go meet the Lord in the air and then disappear with him into the clouds. We go out to meet him to escort the Coming King back to his kingdom. Always remember, he is Emmanuel – God with us.
This understanding of what happens – this single return of Christ is more in keeping with the general message of Messianic prophecies and the doctrine of grace. The prophecies foretold of God coming and dwelling with his people – that’s grace – not us going and dwelling with him. That’s what grace does – it runs to meet us. And so we will be the Lord always.
One final point here and we are through. Notice Paul’s application for this teaching in v. 18, “Therefore encourage each other with these words.” That, brothers and sisters in Christ is the true reason for teaching on the end times. Not so that we can guess dates and times. Not so that we scare the bejebers out of our friends and neighbors in hope that they’ll want fire insurance. But so we can know comfort in the face of grief, hope in the face of fear, peace in the face of anxiety. This teaching is meant to encourage, to help us bear up regardless of our circumstances. We are to remind one another about his great hope that we share so that might continue to live vigilant, hopeful lives of faith.
Heaven, heaven – everybody talking about heaven…. Unfortunately, a lot of the talk about heaven ain’t worth listening to. It’s time to stop the madness – to stop the wasted energy spent on trying to find out where we are on the end times calendar. Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour, except the Father. Let’s take him at his word. Then we can focus on the real purpose for teaching on the last things – to comfort and encourage us to faithful lives, even in the face of life’s darkest challenges.
